Parent's Weekend
by SnapeStark14
Summary: It's Parent's Weekend at Hogwarts, and Albus Severus Potter is expecting trouble. Primarily between his bullying older brother and Al's best friend, the strong willed Nerida Snape, neice of Severus Snape. Can the 3rd year Slytherin and his crazy Weasley/Potter family make it through the weekend without all getting kicked out? Read on to see! Rated T for some swearing and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**(This chapter is really short-sorry)**

**Reviews are welcome! I am totally open to critique, and I just want to get better. Please tell me what you think :)**

**Disclaimer: The only main character I own is Nerri, the others belong to JKR**

Chapter 1

"Mom! Dad!" Albus yelled as he bolted through the mass of people standing outside the great hall.

"Hey, Al," his dad said, laughing at his enthusiasm. He hugged his son, then pushed his glasses up his nose. Albus loved it when he did that. It made him feel at home.

"Where's your brother?" asked his mom. She was craning her neck, looking around for James. Albus sighed a little. "He's probably already inside. Let's go," Albus muttered as he led his parents inside.

All around him, he saw joyful kids reuniting with their families. He nodded at his Slytherin comrade, Scorpius Malfoy, as he walked by him and his parents, and laughed as his fellow 3rd year Kate Finnegan-Brown squealed when her dad threw her over his shoulder. He tried to ignore the stares and whispers that were always attracted by his famous dad and snake son. Parent's weekend was always crazy, and this was no exception. After the Hogwarts remodel (which had fixed all the old towers and had added a whole new wing,), Headmistress McGonagall thought it would be fun to have all the parents visit for a weekend in March, and listen to the teachers explaining what they had been learning. No more angry owls from adults demanding to know _what the hell was happening up there, you wackos._ The visitors all stayed in a temporary hotel that had been conjured up by the teachers and floated around the castle like a great big balloon, connected by a magical bridge. The students had school on the weekend – the only time in the year that happens - and the parents ate meals with the kids in the Great Hall and spent most of their time on tours in the classrooms.

"Oh, hold up, Al, it's the Weasleys," said his dad. He turned Albus to face towards a huge gathering of tall redheads who were all laughing and squealing as they hugged each other. As the Potters-minus-two approached the group, a familiar face poked out from between two people with their backs facing out. "Harry! Ginny! Oh come on, make some room, you lot," Uncle Ron said as he squeezed his ample frame out through the crowd. Albus' cousin Rose followed him, and a woman with bushy brown hair who must have been Aunt Hermy (James had started calling her that as a baby, Dad and Ron had laughed wildly for God-knows-why, but the nickname stuck,) squeezed out behind. "Hello Potters!" said Ron, and gave Harry a bear hug. Albus giggled as he heard his dad wheeze under the pressure.

There followed a lot of hugging, and by the end, Albus's brother James had made his way over to them. Albus sighed again as his mother embraced his tall, handsome, 6th year Gryffindor brother and immediately started firing questions at him as to how school was going and if he was still dating Adana Patil. "You _never_ owl," Ginny scolded as his brother laughed and flipped his hair back.

"'Scuse me, I'm gonna go find Nerri," he said. "Ok, Al, be back soon," his mom said absentmindedly, then went back to chatting with James.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Albus pushed his way through the crowds, then jogged over to his friend who was sitting on a bench in the corner, surveying the action. Nerida Jane Snape, illegitimate daughter of Severus Snape's cousin Sam, didn't look very intriguing from afar. But when you got close, you were sure to be amazed. Her black hair, always in a long braid, shimmered in a way that has almost like water. She had sharp features and her eyes were dark pools, like chips of obsidian. She was tall for her age – but not quite as tall as Al – and had a well-built muscular figure under her green and black robes. She had been known to punch people who got on her nerves, and the fact that she was related to Severus Snape provoked much bullying and teasing from those older and stronger than her. Her chief tormenter was (guess who…) James Potter and his little band of bullies. She always tried to fight against them, but it's quite hard to combat 5 tough 6th years by yourself. Albus didn't know why his brother was never bothered by her – her punches hurt. A lot.

Albus sat down tentatively on the bench next to her, noticing the angry look on her face as she sat hunched over. "Uh, Nerri, you ok?" he said softly. She looked over and glared at him. He had felt that glare many times, the first time being when he was sat next to her in Potions class last year. She had expected more torment from him, of course, she saw him as a Potter, not a fellow victim of James' mean side.

"No. I hate parent's weekend. It's fucking stupid if you ask me," she grumbled. She was one of the few American kids in the school, and her accent and rough language had shocked everyone at first. Her mom, Julia, had fled to Detroit, USA, to avoid her family's shame after her boyfriend, Sam Snape, ran off and left her pregnant. Julia had always been very cold to her daughter. Nerri called it "looking-too-much-like-dad-syndrome."

"Um, is anyone coming for you? Your, uh, grandma or uncle or something?" Al winced, suddenly remembering who her uncle was. Her head snapped back away from him to look at the huge crowd.

"No, nobody's coming for me, douchedick. You really think my good ol' witch mommy would apparate all the way here just to see me? She's got her 'stuff,' remember? Anything to avoid seeing me. Speaking of avoiding me, shouldn't you be over there? With your _family_ and Mister Perfect?" she spat.

Albus resisted the urge to ask if she meant his dad or James. When Nerri was in a mood like this, you don't mess with her. Ever. Al had learned that the hard way.

"Uh, no. The Weasleys are there, and mom's drooling over James, as per usual."

"Oh, the lovely carrot tops!" drawled Nerri, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Say hi to the bookish worm, lil Miss Ravenclaw, and the fat Snape hater for me! Oh, yeah, and the retard."

"Stop it!" Al said sharply. Nerri straightened up quickly, her face a perfect picture of surprise. Al had never talked back to her before. "You stop it right now! Aunt Hermione and Rose aren't weird, they're smart! Uncle Ron had good reason to dislike your uncle, and, in case you forgot, he helped save the wizarding world. And Hugo… he has _autism, _Nerida! One of the only disorders we don't have a spell for yet. And he didn't even come. Don't be nasty! Just because your mom doesn't care about you and your dad ran off doesn't mean you can make fun of my family!"

He saw her mouth shut with a snap, and she turned away from him. Albus deflated a little. "I-I'm sorry, Nerri, that was low, I didn't mean-"

"Oh, you meant it. Don't pretend you didn't," said Nerri softly. "It's true anyway." Albus realized she was sniffling. He shuffled closer, and put his arm around her. "You know what I got for parent's day? A letter. A damn letter. Look," she sniffed, and pulled an envelope out of her robe pocket. As Albus was reaching over to take it, a hand reached out and snatched the letter away. They both looked up to see James standing over them, holding the small white square of paper.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Snakes in love? Is this a mushy letter to your sweetheart?" James sang. "Al, the fam's all back there, so don't try to run and tattle. Also, that ruins the fun. Anyway, I'm only here for the miss. You do know what her dad did, right? Why are you even hanging out with Snapespawn?" He laughed at his own pun.

Nerri gritted her teeth and stood up. "For the last time, you pimply asshole, he was my uncle. I didn't even know him. Now give me back my letter!"

"Ooh, I'm sooooo scared," warbled James. "If you want it back, why don't you take it?" He stretched out his 6-foot frame to its limits, raising his arms so the letter was almost 3 feet above Nerri's head, well beyond her reach.

"Fine, be that way." She muttered. She kicked his shin, and when that didn't work, she kicked him in the balls. James crumpled like a rag doll, and let go of the letter to hold his midsection and roll on the floor, groaning. Nerri grabbed the envelope and stood above the big 6th year, surveying her handiwork. By that time, the sight of Gryffindor's finest moaning on the ground with his younger brother and the boy's Snape friend standing over him had drawn quite a crowd, and at the front of the group was the Weasley/Potter clan, all wearing horrified expressions.

"SHE'S CURSED HIM!" screeched Ginny, clapping a hand over her mouth, as she ran over to her elder son and dragged him closer to the center of the room before kneeling beside him, wailing. Harry and Hermione just looked shocked, but Ron's face was a red mask of complete and utter fury.

"You-you-you-" sputtered Ron, pointing at a confused Nerri, "Like father, like daughter! She's cursed him, Gin's right! She probably wants revenge!"

"What the hell are you talking about? He's not even my-" Nerri started to say.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Ron, and barreled towards the shocked girl. Harry barely had time to grab his friend and hold him back, calling out "Ron, stop it Ron, she's just a kid, she's a kid, come on man, there's a reasonable explanation for this, I'm sure, come on, Ron-"

But while Harry Potter maybe could have held Ron Weasley back 20 years ago, Ron was much bigger now and Harry wasn't as young as he used to be. Albus's uncle broke free of Harry's grasp, and ran at Nerri, who was still standing, shocked at the commotion. Albus shouted and tried to pull her away, but Ron knocked the girl to the ground and was able to land a punch on her jaw before his brother Bill was able to grab him. Bill was even larger than Ron, and solid muscle. He dragged his brother back away from the crumpled form of Nerida Snape. Albus ran to his friend, who lay unconscious on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. The new nurse, Madam Richley, appeared suddenly from where she had been standing on the side of the Hall, and was levitated the poor girl and began walking quickly towards the hospital wing, Nerri in tow. Albus tried to follow, but his father put a hand on his shoulder and kept him back. "She'll be fine, Al." he said.

"WAIT!" yelled Ginny. The nurse paused and looked back at the hysterical woman crouching over the still-groaning boy. "WHAT ABOUT MY SON? SHE CURSED HIM!"

Albus was tired of that. "She didn't curse him!" He shouted at his mother. "Nerri wouldn't do that! She kicked him in the balls because he stole her letter and was being awful like he always is! He's constantly being mean to Nerri and me because her dad is Severus Snape! AND HE ISNT EVEN HER DAD!"

With that, Albus took off out of the hall, leaving almost three thousand shocked faces behind him. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't stop running until he reached the courtyard. He heard his dad come up behind him, puffing. "Al," he said quietly, after catching his breath. "Is that true? Your brother teases you and, ah, Nerri? He's a bully?"

Albus nodded, his throat too tight to speak. "Ha," Harry muttered. "Just like the first James."

"Will she be ok? Nerri, I mean?" Albus whispered, ashamed. He was sobbing like a five year old! He was 14, for God's sake. Al coughed and tried again. "Um, will Nerri be alright? It-it looked-"

"Yeah, I know. Nerri will be totally fine. Ron on the other hand…" Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "Ron was way out of line. Actually, 'out of line' doesn't even come close. I tried, but…God. Ron will most certainly be kicked out of parent's weekend, and he may face a trial, if Nerri presses charges. This is so severe that Ron could go to Azkaban. And it's a million times worse since he's the Great Ronald Weasley and she's Snape's blood. Christ."

"Nerri won't. Press charges, I mean. She-she's not like that." mumbled Albus. "Can I see her?"

"Let's head down to the hospital wing and see."

"Um, could I go alone?" asked Albus, looking at the floor. Harry looked a little surprised, but he nodded. "One more thing Al," he said. "Your mum, I'm sorry about-" "It's fine." Al cut him off. "I'm gonna go now, ok?" He turned and strided back towards the hospital wing without waiting for an answer.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope people like the story so far. I beg suggestions! Please review. **

When Al got to the hospital wing and pushed past the front desk to run to Nerri's bed, he was happy to see that she was the only occupant. He was also surprised to find two familiar faces already there. When she saw him, the first visitor leapt up from the chair she had been sitting in and ran over to hug him.

His cousin Dominique Weasley looked less like her red haired relatives than her mother, Fleur, did. She had been born with the white-blonde hair of her quarter-Veela mom, but had opted to dye it a dark blue that made her skin look even paler than it already was. No dye could obscure her freckles, however, and her resemblance to her father marked her as the daughter of Bill Weasley. Her eyes, changed from their previous brown by a prototype spell that she had taken from Uncle George's shop, matched the green of her robes. She was in 3rd year too, and was one of Al's closest friends, along with Scorpius and Nerri, of course.

The other visitor was a little more surprising. She hung back as Al embraced his cousin, but then came closer. Hermione Weasley was not a tall woman, but made an intimidating figure, even in simple jeans and a Chudley Cannons T-shirt (a gift from Ron). She smiled slightly, then gave Al a quick hug. "Hey," she whispered softly. Let's go talk outside, ok? She's supposed to keep sleeping." Hermione gestured towards Nerri, who was snoring softly and had a white bandage around her head. Al nodded, then followed his aunt to the waiting room.

"Okay, Al, first off I want to say how sorry I am. Ron's always been rash, and he's been looking for someone to take out his aggression out on. Poor Nerri seemed to be the unfortunate victim of his rage.) Hermione said.

"Yeah, wow…" Dominique mused. "And Uncle Ron's never really stopped hating Snape, even after the Battle of Hogwarts, right?" Hermione gave a quick nod.

"Anyway, Ron's in the Headmistress's office right now with Bill and Percy. He's going to be leaving tomorrow to go join Hugo and his parents at the Burrow. It's a shame; I know he was really looking forward to this weekend. But he let his temper get the better of him, again, so now he's looking at serving time." She sounded so sad when she said this that Al almost felt sorry for Ron. He reached over and gave his aunt's hand a squeeze.

"He probably won't have to. Nerri's not the type of person to go to trial over this. She'll probably just make him sing I'm A Little Teapot or something and then let it go." That made them all laugh.

"Wow, that would be awesome," chuckled Dominique. Albus had almost forgotten about her. "Wait, why are you here?" he asked Dom. "Same reason you are, crazy head. She's my friend and I was worried. I saw the whole thing in the hall. Auntie and I followed the nurse after you ran off."

"You didn't stay with Uncle Ron?" Al asked, raising his eyebrows at his aunt.

"I told him where I was going. He looked a little mad, but then again, I wasn't going to stay. He needed to cool off." Hermione shrugged. "Anyway, tell me a little about Nerri. She's Severus' daughter?"

"Niece," corrected Albus. "She's a third year Slytherin, like me, and we met in potions class last year. We've been friends ever since, and Dom and Scorpius usually join us."

"And are you two…?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at Albus.

"No! No way!" he exclaimed loudly, earning him a glare from the nurse. Al could feel his face reddening. "No, no, it's not like that. We're just friends. Nothing more. Nope."

"But Al wished there was…" smirked Dominique.

"I do not!" squeaked Al. "And if I did, it's not nearly as bad as your monster crush on Clarke Zabini!" That shut her up.

Hermione had been watching the interaction with a sort of bemused interest. "Well, that's all cleared up then," she chuckled. "Al, just so you know, Nerri – uh, what is her real name, exactly?"

"Nerida," Al informed her. "But she hates it."

"Okay, we'll stick with Nerri then. Nerri was knocked unconscious and now had a concussion. Ronald also broke her jaw and two of her ribs, but those are already mending. She'll be out of here in a few hours, tops. I love magic medicine," sighed Hermione. Albus was surprised. He had thought for sure that Nerri's injuries would have been much worse than that. "Anyway, you two should get back to your dormitories. Dinner's in a few hours, and the parents all need to listen to the great big introduction seminar in the Great Hall. I suppose I'll pop up to the Headmistress' office to see Ron off, but you kiddos have to go. Nerri will be totally fine."

"Okay. See you at dinner, Aunt Hermy." said Dom, already rising from her chair and tugging Albus's arm to make him follow her. As they started to make their way down to the Slytherin common room, Dom put in her own two cents. "I think it was really nice of Hermione to come check on Nerri," she said quietly. Al gave a small nod. He was still a little overwhelmed by the day's events. Dom took no notice. "Anyway, I wonder what will happen to Ron. Nerri won't take it to court, she'll understand, it would be a huge press scandal. Imagine, 'Wizard Hero Attacks Defenseless Daughter of Ex-Voldemort Spy?' Jeez."

"Yeah," mumbled Al. "Um, yeah, totally." Dom leaned in front of him so her face was looking straight at his and he couldn't avoid staring at her.

"Are you even listening to me?" she questioned.

"Sorry Dom, just a bit tired. Oh look, we're here." He turned to face the entrance to the common room. "Um, Longbottom Brown?" During parent's weekend, the passwords were always heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts, because the parents were the generation that fought in it. The door swung open, and Albus made a beeline for his dormitory.

"See you at dinner!" he heard Dom call after him. He ran into his room and flopped on the bed.

"Hey, Al, you alright? Is Nerri okay?" he heard Scorpius say, his voice coming from his own bed. Al looked up to find all of his dorm mates looking at him.

The four other boys were a study in contrasts. Scorpius Malfoy, his bed right next to Al's, looked exactly like the man in the photo that Scorpius kept on his bedside table. It was obviously his father, he had the same white blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and handsome features that Scorpy did. Clarke Zabini was taller than most of the teachers, with skin the color of chocolate and greasy black hair that had been straightened too many times and fell to his shoulders. Vincent Goyle was short, stocky, and pale, his brownish hair in a buzz cut that made his head look like a brick. Last of all was Jack Hartung, a half blood from the countryside. His skin was tanned by the hot sun, and his sandy hair was always shining with gel.

The other half of the Slytherin third years, the girls, were also five. There was Nerri and Dom of course. They were joined by Candy Burke, burly and hard headed, and Syndil Grey, who terrified even James Potter, with her platinum hair and pointed figures. Her eyes had been described by Dom as "Shooting bolts of pure black hatred directly into your very soul." The last member was Eris Green, a small dark haired girl who could always be depended on for homework help.

"Nerri's fine," Al reassured the boys. "She's got a concussion, but she'll be out in a few hours."

"That's a surprise," smirked Jack as he sprawled on his green and black bed. "I was sure that whale of a Weasley had crushed her." Al ignored the comment and began getting ready for dinner. Jack reminded him of the stories Harry had told him about the Slytherins that he had gone to school with. Al and his friends avoided him as much as possible.

Slytherin House had changed dramatically since his parent's generation. No longer was it a home for closet Death-Eaters and muggleborn haters, though some students still attempted to uphold those ideals. The vast majority of students were those who were cunning and ambitious, but not evil, the original values set by their founder. There were even a few muggleborns.

But, just as Slytherin had improved, Gryffindor had become worse. Gryffindors were the feared ones in the school, the biggest and the scariest. James wasn't the only bully, and he wasn't the worst by far. Gryffindor also had a deep hatred of all things Slytherin, causing too many incidents justified by the assumption that "All snakes are evil." Last year, Zach Thomas and Nico Finnegan-Brown had strung a first year upside down from a tree, simply for the crime of having a snake patch on his robes(Albus's friend Kate, one of the few Gryffindors who held no grudges against other houses, had tried to hold her brother back, but was unsuccessful.). And just a week ago, Lynn McLaggen and Al's own cousin Roxanne had cornered a 4th year called Kira and drawn a messy Gryffindor logo on her forehead in permanent ink before breaking one of her arms. Oh, all the attackers had been punished of course, everyone except James. Al's brother had never done anything that had put somebody in the hospital wing, and even if he did, they would probably pin it on the poor victim because James couldn't have a spot on his record if he was going to play for a Quidditch club when he got out of school.

Ah, then there was Quidditch. Once it was an exciting sport played at school for fun(ish.). Now it was life or death. Slytherin no longer had an exclusively male team, and their starter squad was made up of quick, slight flyers. Al was a chaser like his mom - she barely noticed – alongside Dominique and a 7th year named George. Nerri was a beater, the only female beater in the whole school, and her partner was a big muscly 5th year named Lucas(not to be confused with Dom's brother Louis, who was a 2nd year Ravenclaw.). Scorpius was their seeker, and he could fly faster than Al had ever seen anyone else fly. And finally, their captain and keeper was the 7th-year Lesly Wood. Her twin brother Ollie was the Gryffindor keeper.

The rest of the Gryffindor team consisted of Fred Weasley (the 2nd,) and Nico Finnegan-Brown as beaters – both huge boys who enjoyed walloping opposing players more than walloping bludgers. Their chasers were Kate, Roxanne, and a boy named Michael. But the star of the team was the seeker James Potter. People called him the best Potter seeker yet, better than the first James and even Harry. The odd thing was that James was one of the worst sportsmen on the team, always fouling, getting upset after a loss, and crashing intentionally. The whole school may see it firsthand because, this weekend, there would be a mini-tournament that the parents would get to watch. Each house would play the others once, and the two teams with the best records would play for the title(if there was a tie for the 2nd best records, the teams would play to determine a winner.).

But everyone knew who the favorites were, because Ravenclaw always had the best team. They had players who constantly produced goals, rarely fouled other players, and didn't have the extra pressure of having one of the teams be your biggest rival who always tried to cause permanent bodily harm. Hufflepuff hadn't had a good team since Harry's generation, and some people called it "The Curse of Cedric Diggory."

Luckily, the houses of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw did not share the same hatred of Slytherin that the Gryffindors had. Hufflepuff especially tried to help keep the peace. Nowadays, the first rule a new Slytherin learns is _if someone's attacking you, find a Hufflepuff. _Many a crisis had been averted by a friendly group of kids with yellow scarves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! Thank you SO much to those people who reviewed :) I'm sorry, I'm too lazy to remember your usernames.**

**One quick correction; Nerri is supposed to be from Chicago, not Detroit. I was watching the Detroit Tigers play when I wrote that, and my fingers didn't type what my brain was thinking. Sorry. Anyhoozle, please keep reviewing. Sorry it took me so long to post this - homework is evil. Enjoy!**

"Hey, guys, dinner's in five minutes!" Al heard Dom's voice through their door, accompanied by furious knocking.

"Coming!" the boys yelled in response, quickly throwing on their long robes and slipping shoes on. They heard more banging on the door.

"What's taking so long?" This time it was Eris who was shouting through the hinges.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TIE BLOODY TIES! WE'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE!" hollered Clarke, fumbling with the green and silver piece of fabric that he was attempting to knot around his neck. Scorpy ran over to help him.

Approximately six minutes later, nine embarrassed third years tiptoed into the great hall, glanced around, and ran over to an empty table(there were round tables this weekend, each fitting 12 people,) just in time to join the applause for the headmistress' welcome speech.

"Is everyone fine with not sitting with parents?" Albus asked the table. Everyone nodded and muttered their assent. Al glanced over and saw the Weasley/otters sitting at a huge table that they had made by pushing two others together. James was hunched over in sullen silence, and when he caught Al looking at him, he glared horribly. Harry just looked pained.

Dom glanced around the room. Al saw her eyes light up, and she began waving wildly. He followed her gaze, and his heart leapt when he saw Nerri striding in. She caught his eye and ran over to sit between him and Dominique. Nerri had a big gauze patch on her left temple, but otherwise looked fine.

"Hey," she muttered to Al as she sat down. "What'd I miss?"

"No idea," Al whispered. "We just got here too." She raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to say something when Dom cut in.

"So you're not going to sue Uncle Ron or anything, are you?" she asked excitedly. Nerri rolled her eyes.

"Glad you're so concerned for my welfare. I'm fine, thanks for asking. And no, I won't take it to court or anything." She assured her friend.

"Awesome," said Clarke from Dom's other side. "Now on to a more pressing matter. Where the hell is the food?"

Like it had been awaiting his call, plates appeared in front of everyone in the hall. All around them, people called out their orders and were delighted as their orders appeared in front of them.

"Lasagna, please. Extra mozzarella," said Dom. Her plate was suddenly filled with gourmet lasagna…under about a foot of shiny cheese. "Not that much!" she shouted indignantly, and about ¾ of the mountain disappeared. "I love one – second custom food spells," Dom sighed and tucked in. Al made his own request, pork pie, and was about to wolf down a wedge when he saw what was on Nerri's gold platter.

"What is that?!" he squeaked, pointing at the circle of dough that she was contemplating. Nerri grinned.

"Deep dish pizza," she laughed. "It's something we have in Chicago." Albus had tried pizza before, on a trip his family took to Italy, but this was something new.

"That is NOT pizza," he heard Scorpius say. Al's friend was also transfixed with the thing on Nerri's plate. "That…is a pillow with toppings." Nerri rolled her eyes again and lifted a slice. She took a nibble and made a face.

"You British people have no idea how to make good food. 'Scuse me, spell sprite things? May I please just have some spaghetti?" The spell sprite things made no response. Nerri groaned and pushed the pizza away.

"You can have some of this," Al offered, pushing his meat pie towards her.

"Thanks." She grabbed a slice.

Suddenly, the caretaker, Lawrence Hull, ran into the hall and whispered something to McGonagall. A look of shock appeared on her face. She ran up to the announcement podium.

"Will the families of Nico Finnegan-Brown and Andrea Waters please report to my office immediately?" the Headmistress announced worriedly. Two of Al's dad's old friends, the Finnegan-Browns, stood up from a nearby table and ran off with Kate in tow. Kate stopped to wave at the Slytherins before running off after her parents. After them went two very short blonde people who must have been the parents of Andrea Waters.

"Craaaaaaaaap." Al heard Scorpius mutter. "What is it?" he asked, as the rumble of speaking in the Great Hall resumed its normal level. Scorpius groaned.

"The Waters family. They're, um, really, really, pure blooded. My parents have them over for dinner sometimes. Their daughter, Andrea, is in Slytherin with us, she's a 2nd year."

Jack, from the other side of the table, shrugged. "So maybe Nico messed with her a little. It's nothing new."

"Well, I've never seen McGonagall so worked up. If it was something that simple, she would have waited until after dinner. Which leads me to believe that something worse happened." Scorpy explained.

"We don't know that, though," objected Candy. "She could just want to get it over with, especially because the parents are here."

"Either way, Kate'll tell us tomorrow." stated Scorpy, ending the discussion.  
About a half hour later, the hall began to empty out. Kids said goodnight to their parents and headed back to the dormitories, while the adults walked out to the courtyard where the temporary hotel's bridge began. The ten students all began to move towards their common room.

"Al! Hey, Al, hold up!" Albus heard his dad call after him. The group stopped and tuned to see Harry Potter striding over to find his son.

"Hello, you lot. How's life?" asked Harry, upon reaching them. "Hi, Dom. Scorpius, how are your grandparents? Good, huh? Haven't seen those two in a while. Clarke, is your dad still working at the Ministry?"

"Yeah," mumbled Clarke. "He's Head of International Magical Cooperation now."

"Ah, good for him!" Harry smiled. Albus had turned a little pink. "Dad? What do you want?"

Harry's smile drooped a little. "Come over here for a moment," he said, walking over to a less-crowded area. Al followed more slowly. "I just wanted to make sure…you're not really mad at Ron or anything, right? You or Nerri? Because he just gets like that sometimes, and-"

"It's fine," Al cut him off. "Nobody's mad." Harry looked relived. "Great! See you tomorrow then!"

"Bye," Al muttered as his dad jogged back to Ginny. Albus turned and walked back over to where his friends were. He was thankful for their silence as the group trotted back to the dungeons. Everyone with him knew that stuff like private parent chats were just that: private.

The students all changed into their pajamas then went back to the main common room to read, play games, or catch up on homework. Al was sitting and reading a book called The Fault in Our Stars. It had been a gift from his grandfather.

Suddenly, a folded square of notebook paper popped into existence above his head and floated down to rest on the page. Al recognized it; they were a new development called InstaNotes, a way of sending close messages. Like the Ministry of Magic's airplane memos, but these ones could only travel about a mile to the recipient. They were perfect for use at Hogwarts (unfortunately, though, you couldn't use commas for god-knows-why, so there were a lot of short sentences.).

Al unfolded the paper. His eyes skimmed the few lines quickly. "Guys," he called softly. "You're gonna want to see this." Dom grabbed the paper from his hand and read out loud.

"Hey Slytherins. Nico's expelled. He did some spell on the Waters girl. I'm not sure on the details. She's pretty messed up. Daily Prophet's already reporting. Thought you'd want to know. From Kate."

They all looked at each other. "Well, we all knew it was inevitable, right?" Clarke broke the silence. "Somebody had to be expelled. It had just gone too far."

"Let's be thankful. Maybe the abuse will lighten up a little now that Nico's gone and Gryffindor knows that McGonagall means business," Jack tried to assure them. Syndil looked up at him with her usual cool stare.

"Actually, it's going to get worse. You know Thomas and McLaggen are going to assume Nico did nothing wrong, right? That it was Slytherin that got their friend expelled? I mean, Roxanne's not going to accept that her boyfriend is a stupid neanderthal that got himself kicked out because he beat up a 2nd year, is she?"

Albus sighed. He knew Syndil was right. Zach, Lynn, and Roxanne weren't letting go of their tormenting fun just because Nico wasn't there anymore. Al had tried to talk to his cousin about her actions last year at Christmas. The conversation went something like this:

Al: Um, hey.

Roxanne: What do you want?

Al: Uh, could you maybe be a little nicer to the Slytherins? I mean we didn't do-

Roxanne: Woah. Hold it right there. You did do something. You tried to take over the whole wizarding world.

Al: How many times do I have to tell you, that wasn't us! It was the last generation-

Roxanne: Shut up. Just shut up. There are Death Eater's kids in that house. I like you. You should be glad we stay away from you and your little crew, Albus. Don't make us stop.

Al: But-

Then she had walked away. Al had stood under the huge Christmas tree, stunned. Roxanne had always been hard – headed, but Al never had the guts to stand up with her. She and her brother Fred Weasley the 2nd were both over 5'8'' and had to have 50 pounds on Al. They were also both super intimidating, those twins, with their curly dark hair and eyes like black fire. Roxanne's skin was darker than her brother's, but that was the only major difference between them.

The rest of the bully pack was similarly well built. Their leaders were James, and – before he had been expelled – Nico. The rest consisted of Zach Thomas, who looked like a character from one of Nerri's comics, he was so sculpted, Lynn McLaggen, a brick of a girl with mid-length blonde hair and squished features, Roxanne, Fred, and their most recent addition, a muggleborn named Ricky Lewis who looked like he could be a Weasley, except for his permanent angry expression.

They were a nasty bunch, to be sure. And Al had a feeling that he and his friends would be seeing a lot of them this weekend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi. Really sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had a ton of homework and such. I know this chapter is really short, but I really wanted to get something up. I'm working on a long one right now, so expect that soon. I am going to try and update once a week minimum, but I must admit, I've got a teensy bit of writers block. Heh heh. If you have any ideas or critique for the story, please tell me! I am working really hard on this and want to make it the best it can be.**

**-Alix**

_GUARDIAN BALL_, the poster read. _JOIN US THIS SATURDAY FOR AN EVENING OF MUSIC, DANCING, AND FOOD. 4:00-7:00 STUDENTS AND PARENTS SOCIAL, 7:00-12:00 STUDENTS 3__RD__ YEAR AND ABOVE IN GREAT HALL, YOUNGER ONES TO DORMITORIES, PARENTS IN FLOATING BALLROOM(TO BE CONJURED UP AS PART OF THE FIREWORKS SHOW). _

Albus groaned inwardly. The ball, which was a celebrated part of Parents' weekend, was that night. And he didn't have a date. Albus knew he shouldn't care, but it was a sort of expectation that the 3rd to 7th years, especially those who were children of the Battle of Hogwarts veterans, should show up with partners. This was Al's first year that he had to actually ask a girl to dance. It was 1:00 now, and he had an hour of free periods until Potions. He had to find someone by then.

Al welcomed an interruption from his troubled thoughts. It came in the form of Clarke and Scorpius, who were grinning and running down the hall towards him. "Hey, guys!" Albus said to them as his friends stopped short in front of him, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Congratulate him," Clarke said, pointing at Scorpius. The Malfoy boy blushed a deep red. Al raised an eyebrow.

"I may have just asked Eris to the ball…" Scorpy mumbled. Al sighed inwardly. At this rate, he would be the only kid without a date. "Congratulations," he managed weakly. "What about you, Clarke?" He looked at the other boy.

"Dom asked me in History of Magic," Clarke informed him. "Al, are you going to get someone, or what? It's getting pretty late, man."

Al sighed. "Well, uh, maybe I could ask Nerri, or something…" he shrugged. Al saw his friends suddenly look very unhappy. "What?" he asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Didn't you know? Jack invited her last period!" Clarke nearly shouted.

"AND SHE SAID YES? TO BLOODY JACK, OF ALL PEOPLE?" Al heard himself yelling. A couple of scared first years glanced their way as they hurried down the corridor.

"Ew. Bloody Jack. Bad image." Al heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned to see Dom standing behind him innocently, holding a few notebooks and her wand. Albus felt himself turning red. "Don't worry, I haven't been here long." she assured him. "Just long enough to hear your predicament. So-" she was abruptly cut off by the arrival of Syndil Grey, who was oddly cheerful. She was weird that way, because one time in ten, you would find her happy and smiling. Al liked that side of her.

"Hey, all," she giggled. That was a surprise. Syndil never giggled. "Um, Al, can I talk to you for a quick moment?" She swooshed off about ten feet away with Al following in her wake. "So, Al." she began. "I was thinking we could go to the ball together?"

Al felt like he had just been told he won the Wizlottery. "Uh, what?" he managed. Here was this beautiful girl, this stunningly amazing girl, and she wanted to go to the ball with him! Him, of all people! He shook his head and looked back at her. Her with her long blonde locks, perfect face, and bright gray eyes. He never thought gray eyes could be bright before this, maybe because of looking at Nerri.

"Sure," he said. "Yeah, sure, I'd really love to!" Her face broke into a grin. Al felt his do the same as a great weight came off his shoulders.

"Great! Have to go now, I have Herbology. We're doing mandrakes 'cause Longbottom never got to them last year. Ick." She made a face. "Anyway, I'll see you later!" She giggled again and ran off in the direction of the greenhouses.

Al turned and walked back to Dom, Clarke, and Scorpy. They were all staring at him. "What was that about?" Clarke asked.

"She asked him to the ball," said Dom matter-of-factly.

"How'd you know?" Al stared at her.

Dom huffed. "My amazing detective skills, of course! And you have that dopey smile on that only pops up when a girl likes you." Al immediately attempted a more restrained expression. "And, um, she may have told us last night in the dorm that she was going to ask you."

"What?" Albus was startled. So Nerri had known about it? Maybe that was why she had said yes to Jack, because she knew Syndil was going to invite him… Al would never know. He would have asked Dom if Nerri had looked unhappy or said anything after Syndil told her dorm mates, but she and Scorpy would never let him forget it. "Um. I have to go. Uh, study." Al excused himself quickly and ran to the library, all traces of a smile wiped from his face. He ignored his friends calls after him, intent on his journey. Al needed someone to talk to. He needed the one person he knew wouldn't say anything.


End file.
